Justification This cockatoo qualifies as Vulnerable because, like its congeners, it is a very popular cagebird and has suffered a rapid population decline as a result of trapping for trade, combined with deforestation in its small range. Moreover, this decline is projected to continue and perhaps accelerate.

Family/Sub-family Psittacidae

Species name author (Gmelin, 1788)

Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification 46-52 cm. Large white cockatoo. White, tinged salmon-pink throughout, with long, backward-curving pink crest. Yellow-orange undersides of wings and tail. Grey-black bill, bluish-white, bare eye ring, grey legs. Similar spp. Yellow-crested Cockatoo C. sulphurea and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo C. galerita both have yellow or orange crest feathers. Voice Less raucous than most congeners, but includes similar cackles, screeches, nasal chattering and discordant trumpeting.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

62,000

decreasing

18,300 km²

Yes

Range & population Cacatua moluccensis is endemic to Seram, Ambon, Saparua and Haruku in South Maluku, Indonesia. There are no recent records from Saparua and Haruku, and it may only survive at one locality on Ambon, leaving almost the entire population on Seram, where it was once abundant, but has suffered declines, including an estimated 20-40% in one region during the 1990s. It remains locally common in Manusela National Park and, perhaps especially, in east Seram.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It is largely resident (although perhaps subject to minor local movements) in lowland rainforest up to 1,000 m. Recent studies estimated that it occurs at densities of 8.3±5.3 individuals/km² in primary and secondary forest, and at 1.9±1.8 individuals/km² in recently logged forest. Furthermore, highest densities in unlogged forest were encountered below 180 m, clearly illustrating the importance of primary lowland forest. Another recent study found no significant difference between use of a number of landuse types but found that abundance was positively linked to the presence of strangler figs and suitable large nesting trees¹. The diet consists of berries, nuts, seeds, coconuts and insects and their larvae.

Threats By the 1980s the species was being extensively and unsustainably trapped for the cage-bird market, with an estimated 74,509 individuals exported from Indonesia between 1981 and 1990, and international imports averaging 9,751 per annum between 1983 and 1988. Although reported international trade fell to zero in the 1990s, trappers remain highly active and birds are openly sold within Indonesia². This illegal trade was prolific during religious riots during 2004³, and baseline estimates suggest 4,000 birds are removed from the wild annually in domestic trade. Commercial timber extraction, settlement and hydroelectric projects, pose the other major threats through resultant forest loss and fragmentation. It is predicted that half the current population on Seram may be lost to conversion of forest in the next 25 years¹. Most forest has already been lost from Ambon and the coasts and lowlands of Seram. It has also been considered a harmful pest to coconut palms, and, historically at least, it was consequently persecuted.

Conservation measures underway It has been listed on Appendix I and II of CITES since 1989, a measure that effectively curtailed reported trade at the international level. It occurs in Manusela National Park on Seram, although it is not clear what level of protection this affords. Existing protected areas on Seram could support c.9,800 birds, but there is a worrying 30% overlap between these areas and logging concessions¹. A programme of local awareness, linked with the promotion of ecotourism, has recently been launched. ProFauna Indonesia carried out an investigation into domestic trade in 2003/2004².

Conservation measures proposed Conduct detailed research into its population dynamics, local movements and threats. Monitor trade and promote effective enforcement of regulations to control it. *Quickly resolve apparent overlap of logging concessions with Manusela National Park in favour of the park's integrity. Establish a strict nature reserve in the Wae Fufa valley of north-east Seram, and adjoining catchments. Continue and expand conservation awareness campaigns on Seram, using it as a flagship species to reduce trapping pressure and encourage local support.

References BirdLife International (2001). 1. Kinnaird et al. (2003). 2. Metz and Nursahid (2004). 3. C. Shepherd in litt. (2004).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Pete Davidson (BirdLife International), Joe Tobias (BirdLife International)

Contributors Chris Shepherd (TRAFFIC Southeast Asia)

IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Mike Crosby (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Cacatua moluccensis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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